Our Calendar

r with respect to the epoch of its commencement or the manner of distributing the hours. Europeans in general, like the ancient Egyptians, place the

ation, or noon, and find it most convenient for the purpose of computation to reckon through th

ll seasons of the year into twelve hours, the hour being uniformly one-twelfth of the day or the nig

th the most remote, is Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, the Moon. Now, the day being divided into twenty-four hours, each hour was consecrated to a particular planet, namely: One to Saturn, the following to Jupiter, third to Mars, and so on according to the above order; and the day received the name of the planet which presided over its first hour. If, then, the first hour of a day was consecrated to Saturn, that planet would also have the 8th, the 5th and the

to their ancient oppressors, made Saturday the last day of the week. It is stated that the ancient Saxons borrowed the week from some Eastern nation, and substituted the names of their own

SAXON.

. Sun's Da

. Moon's D

s. Tiw's D

i. Woden's D

Thor's Day

s. Friga's

. Seterne's

eptember from Septem, seven; October from Octo, eight; November from Novem, nine, and December from Dec

ctories about 8 B. C. In the reign of Numa Pompilius, about 700 B. C., two months were added to the year, January at the beginning, and February at the end of the year. This arrangemen

(as is the case in the Julian year) the seasons will go back proportionately; but if too short they will advance in the same proportion. Now, as the ancient

d consequently made a revolution of the seasons in 1460 years. Hence the Egyptian year was called a vague or erratic year because the first day of the year in th

y days alternately, which equals 354 days; but a day was added to make the number

month to be inserted every second year between the 23d and 24th of February, consisting of twenty-two and twenty-three days alternately, so

alary months, two of twenty-two and two of twenty-three days, amounting in all to ninety days, should contain only three of those months of twenty-t

the term of a magistracy or hasten an annual election, would give to the intercalary month a greater or less number of days, and consequently the calendar was thrown into confusion, so that

nets in the Egyptian astronomy illustrating t

tu

ay. Ju

day.

day.

ay.

y. Me

sday.

nd

3 4

11 12

17 18

24 1

8 9

14 15

21 22

4 5

1 12 1

18 19

1 2

9 10

15 16

22 23

5 6

12 13

19 20

2 3

10 1

16 17

23 2

6 7

13 14

20 21